NVIDIA’s Ion test-driven, evaluated

NVIDIA's Ion was the topic of much discussion at CES and it's now showing up …

One of the devices on display at CES that stirred a fair bit of interest was NVIDIA's Ion. The small reference systems combine an Intel Atom processor with an integrated GeForce 9400M and associated NVIDIA chipset. Atom has won accolades for its low power consumption when combined with Intel's 945GSE chipset, but graphics performance is the chip's Achilles heel. The 945GSE is based on Intel's aged GMA 950, and Intel graphics solutions don't have a reputation for providing anything more than bare-bones minimum performance, even today. In theory, an NVIDIA+Atom solution could hit Intel in weak spot, provided Ion lives up to its potential.

According to The Tech Report, it does. That website put a reference Ion platform under the microscope and came back impressed with the solution's video playback and overall performance. NVIDIA hasn't had a reputation for low power consumption to date, but the company may have turned over a new leaf in that regard. NVIDIA claims that the 9400M+Atom consumes just 3W of power at idle, compared to 2W for an idling Atom+9450GM+ICH7.

Check their coverage if you want the full scoop, but it looks as though NVIDIA has a very compelling solution in hand. Now all they need are design wins—thus far, none have been announced. There are rumors that we may see an Apple Ion as either a Mac TV update or a new Mac mini but Cupertino has yet to confirm any such plans.